The Nightmare  Chapter 1
by thepersonwhowritesthings
Summary: Ellen is different from any other teenage girl. She has a terrible life-threatning curse, and the only way to stop it, is to look deeper.


**Chapter 1 **

**The Nightmare**

There I was again, pressed against the cold hard blue stone, in the middle of an empty street. The sky was alive with thunder and lightning. Rain pattered on the nearby tin roofs. I could feel a sharp pain forcing itself into my right side. A scream bellowed through the streets, it took me a moment to realize it was mine.

Everything went silent. All I could hear was the soft rain brushing against my cold wet skin, the once violent and deadly thunder even softened to a mere crackle in the sky.

A deep growl pierced my ears, but it wasn't the thunder, it was, something else. Something more fearful than death itself. I turned my head slightly to the right, and sure enough, there it was. The focus of my nightmare, the face I've feared for almost 3 years. And its eyes were locked on mine with the intention to kill. It's front teeth were almost two inches long, a tint of sunset yellow coloured the large set of hungry jaws. Its eyes were blazing red, with a tiny black pupil in the centre, and its unbearable face was covered with long wild black fur. It stared at me for a short period of time, then suddenly it opened its jaws and then everything was black. All I could see for that split second was the yellow jaws about to pierce the first layer of my snow-white skin.

"Ahhhhh!" I screamed. _Im, im alive? _I was relieved to find myself in my bedroom, sitting up in my small grey bed.

_It was, just a nightmare. _I thought to myself. I was so frightened, everything around me seemed so silent. The only sound I could hear was my heartbeat pulsing through my chest, and echoing intensely through my ears. _It happened again. _I thought to myself. _That terrifying nightmare I have almost every night. Its haunted me for the past 3 years. Each night, I fear to fall asleep knowing what would happen to me if I dare to._ My thoughts of sorrow were interrupted by a fast thudding noise coming from the narrow corridor outside my room. The door flung open. The power of the force put into it made it almost fly off its hinges. I looked up, astonishment spread across my face. It took me a moment to identify the large shadowy figure standing less than 2 meters away from me. I squinted my eyes trying to focus on the shadow. Then finally it caught its breath, and spoke.

"Ellen! Are you alright?" Unfortunately it was Beth, my mum. Still shaking I managed to push out the words I was looking for.

"I'm fine." The only thing wrong was the two words I spoke were a lie. In reality, the fear I endured took over me, it was spreading through my body and controlling my mind, like I was haunted with a terrifying spirit that lived only to torture me. I felt the comfort of a warm arm wrap itself around my shoulders. Beth was abruptly at my side.

"Mum, honestly I'm fine, it was just a nightmare, nothing more." She didn't reply. The moonlight glistened through the window making the room slightly brighter. I could just see the expression on her face. Her eyes were centred on my clock. I looked at it to see the time. 3:16 in the morning. Beth would have just gotten back from work less than an hour ago. All she ever did was work. She didn't have enough money to support Rosie and I anymore. Not after Dad left the family. Ill never forgive him from that. He just suddenly left when Rosie was 4 months old. I was 8 at the time. Now Beth has to deal with my stupid nightmares waking her every now and again. I swear I hate myself for putting her in that position.

I looked back at Beth whose tired eyes had almost drifted.

"Mum its ok, you can go back to bed, I'm fine now." Her eyes turned more illuminate.

"Well if your ok, I guess I'll go. Just call me if you need me okay?" I nodded slightly as she got up and fumbled across the floor to the exit. Her eyes flashed to mine before she effortlessly closed the door. My fear and shaking had almost worn off. I wiped the sweat from my head and pulled off my bed sheets. Sure enough, it was there. The painful wound from my nightmare. _This happens every time I have that dream, see the monster. But I, don't know how to stop it, or what to do. And I can't tell anyone, I know they won't believe me._ I turned on my lamp, the room lit up in a gentle shade of yellow and orange. It was still hard to see, but I could just manage to adjust my eyes to the light, and look down at my side.

My breathing stopped, all I could see was a dark pool of red blood against my sheets. I've never been hurt this been this badly before in my nightmare. My vision suddenly went blurry. _I'm loosing too much blood. _I thought to myself.

I moved my body out of the bloodstained bed, and headed towards the door. It creaked open slowly. I popped my head out to make sure no one was there. My eyes wondered down to the end of the hall where the bathroom door stood. After procrastinating for a minute, I pulled myself together, and continued walking. I leaned on my unwounded side, and scaled the wall for support. My feet shuffled to the bathroom, stumbling every now and again. The bleeding had almost stopped, but the agony and fear still remained.

I pushed the door open, and walked inside closing it behind me. I turned around and stared at the full-length mirror on the opposite wall to me. Still staring, I lifted my hand, and felt around for the light switch. My fingers eventually found it, and flicked it on. The room lit up, in a dimly coloured yellow. My eyes focused on the large patch of red blood against my white night gown.

I pulled it down across my shoulder, and furthermore to my hipbone.

My focus followed down my body until it reached the blood trickling gashes positioned on my side, accompanied by a few bruises and a slightly painful scratch on the top of my eyebrow.

I opened one of the draws in the bathroom, and grabbed out a long bandage and a few tissues. I whipped away the blood, and wrapped a bandage around my wound. I was so scared, so afraid of what the future held for me. My body wouldn't last much longer, not like this.

I wrapped the bandage gently around my injury, put the unused tissues back in the draw, and looked down at the blood on my gown. _What am I going to do? I cant just stay awake for the rest of my life._

My thoughts were interrupted by soft creak outside the bathroom door.


End file.
